First Wave of Students Moves Onto Campus

Jamiesh Holait stepped on campus for the first time this morning, armed with a large duffel bag, two small bags, a backpack and dreams of continuing his soccer career at GCU.

Jamiesh Holait (right) of London, duffel bag in tow, walks toward his new home in the North Rim Apartments.

“It’s very impressive; I didn’t know what to expect,” said Holait, who arrived from London Thursday night and had never seen the campus. “The people are real friendly as well, which is nice.”

Holait is among the first wave of students to begin moving onto campus for the 2012-13 school year. Residence directors, resident assistants and some students who took summer classes are already on campus. Today they were joined by student-athletes for the fall semester, student Life Leaders, ASGCU government reps and students from the College of Fine Arts and Production.

Athletes go through physicals this afternoon and an orientation on Saturday in order to be ready for the start of practice on Monday. ASGCU students and Life Leaders also begin leadership training on Monday, and COFAP students arrived early to continue rehearsals for their first play, “Much Ado About Nothing,” which debuts Aug. 31.

Next week, early move-ins continue with ROTC and some other students – bringing total students to more than 600 in the residence halls before Welcome Week.

One hundred-degree temperatures greeted the students this morning, which was a bit of a culture shock for Holait as he moved into his North Rim apartment.

“That will take some getting used to,” said Holait, who previously played soccer for Bournemouth University in the United Kingdom. The average temperature in London at this time of the year is 71 degrees.

For others, the excitement of a new dorm helped offset the heat.

“I was in Hegel last year,” said Jordan Beverly, a sophomore cross country and track runner who moved into Camelback Hall. “This was nicer, plus it’s cheaper because you have three-occupancy to a room.

“I just like it better. It even smells better.”

ASGCU students Tara Scibona (left) and Shaylee Beswick move into their dorm room at Camelback Hall.

The new dorm also attracted Camelback suitemates Shaylee Beswick and Tara Scibona, both members of ASGCU.

“This was the last place we could find where we could get a suite together,” Beswick said.

This year, nearly 2,800 students will live on campus. John-Paul Reiger, director of Student Life, said that number was just 300 when he arrived at GCU three years ago.

To help the newcomers get acclimated, Student Life has a volunteer Welcome Crew of 45 students who get to move in early. The Welcome Crew is assigned to greet their residence hall peers, helping them get acclimated to campus and hooked up with the proper resources.

“The perk is they get to move in early,” Reiger said. “You’d be amazed at how many (students) ask to move in early.”